BATON ROUGE, La.  – The Nicholls State University men's tennis team opened its spring schedule on Sunday night at No. 45 LSU and the Colonels were defeated, 7-0, by the Tigers at Dub Robinson Stadium.
 
Nicholls (0-1) was able to notch one victory against the nationally-ranked Tigers (2-0) as sophomore Bernard Wezeman won his first set over Borias Arias at No. 4, 6-2. After Arias blanked Wezeman in the second set, the two battled in the decisive set before Arias secured the LSU shutout with a 7-6 victory.
 
"It was a great night of tennis and the guys laid it all out on the line like I had asked them to. I was very proud to see them play and how they competed," said Meenakshi Sundaram, Nicholls tennis head coach. "This was a culmination of the work they had done every day at every practice during the fall. Tonight we were not good enough for LSU and the guys know why and they will do something about it, I know for sure."
 
LSU started the match out with a sweep of doubles, winning the two completed matched for a 1-0 lead. Sam Meessen and Lukas Clemens fell 6-2 at No. 2 and Wezeman / Kieran Cronin dropped the No. 1 set, 6-4. Partha Adavelly and Evan Karatzas battled in the No. 3 match to trail 5-4 before the contest was suspended after LSU secured the point.
 
In singles, Meessen lost the No. 1 flight to No. 55 Chad Simpson, 6-4, 6-1, and Adavelly fell 7-5, 6-1 to No. 67 Tam Trinh. Overall, the Tigers dominated singles play by winning nine of the 13 sets by at least 6-2.
 
The Colonels return to the courts on Saturday, Jan. 24 at South Alabama. First serve in Mobile, Ala. is scheduled for 10 a.m.
 
Complete Results:
 
Nicholls vs LSU
Jan 18, 2015 at Baton Rouge
(Dub Robinson Stadium)
 
#45 LSU 7, Nicholls 0
 
Singles competition
1. #55 Chris Simpson (LSU) def. Sam Meessen (NICM) 6-4, 6-1
2. #67 Tam Trinh (LSU) def. Partha Adavelly (NICM) 7-5, 6-1
3. #111 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Evan Karatzas (NICM) 6-1, 6-2
4. Boris Arias (LSU) def. Bernard Wezeman (NICM) 2-6, 6-0, 7-6
5. Simon Freund (LSU) def. Kieran Cronin (NICM) 6-2, 6-2
6. Harrison Kennedy (LSU) def. Max Sinn (NICM) 6-2, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. #52 Tam Trinh/Eric Perez (LSU) def. Bernard Wezeman/Kieran Cronin (NICM) 6-4
2. Chris Simpson/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. Sam Meessen/Lukas Clemens (NICM) 6-2
3. Boris Arias/Simon Freund (LSU) vs. Partha Adavelly/Evan Karatzas (NICM) 5-4, unfinished
 
Match Notes:
Nicholls 0-1
LSU 2-0; National ranking #45
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,2,6,4)
Court 3 doubles ended unfinished at 5-4